Hobart hospital returns emergency department to 24/7 operation
As Tasmania’s public hospitals struggle with staff shortages and often overcrowded emergency departments, one private hospital could be offering some welcome relief. Hobart’s Calvary Hospital has returned its emergency department to a 24/7 operation. It is not a silver bullet, but doctors say it will ease some pressure.
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00:00After two years, Calvary Hospital's Emergency Department is packing away its clothes sign
00:08for good.
00:09We're really looking forward to sort of re-establishing ourselves as a fully functional
00:1424 hours a day, seven days a week emergency department and providing the care that we
00:19really want to deliver.
00:21In the face of staffing challenges, the hospital shut its ED on weekends in 2022.
00:27Now a partnership with a private medical specialist service, which will provide doctors,
00:33has turned that around.
00:34The doctors who are coming here will be here at least for two years with two year contracts
00:39and we believe that we will be able to attract more doctors and more medical staff as sort
00:45of the ED re-establishes itself.
00:48We have something between 25 and 40 patients a day currently.
00:52We expect those numbers will continue to come in and probably grow.
00:57The news has been welcomed by Tasmania's Doctors' Union, but with those attending the
01:01private hospital's ED needing to pay an upfront fee, they say there's only so much pressure
01:06it can take off the public system.
01:09We need more sub-acute beds.
01:11We need rapid access to the nursing home or aged care facility beds and we need to increase
01:16our rehabilitation capacity as well.
01:18It is not an insignificant contribution, but it's a small piece of the puzzle.
01:22Tasmania's ED will return to a 24-7 service tomorrow morning, the same day that nurses
01:27and midwives in Tasmania's public health system begin industrial action.
01:32They say they're overworked and under-resourced.
01:35The government says it will continue to work with the union.
01:39We admire the work that they do very much.
01:44The government's committed to working with the nurses and their representatives to work
01:48through the issues that they've got.
01:49A small step forwards, with a marathon still to run.